CraftFest Talk: The Six Biggest Mistakes Even Bestselling Writers Make

I'm attending CraftFest, part of the ThrillerFest conference put on by ITW this weekend in New York. This morning I sat in on a talk given by bestselling thriller writer Joseph Finder, the topic of which was "The Six Biggest Mistakes Even Bestselling Writers Make."

It's been a long time since I was in school, so my note-taking skills have atrophied...But here's what Finder discussed.

MISTAKE #1: The Passive Hero

• Too many thrillers have heroes who don't act; they remain passive while events take place around them.
• The hero must advance the plot; s/he must take action.
• The hero can't simply investigate what's going on -- he must do something about it.

MISTAKE #2: The Long Setup

• The story takes too long to get moving.
• Authors shouldn't just dump story on the reader; they should reveal it through action.
• Too many books start with a good opening, but then slow down to a crawl.
• One way to avoid this is to start the story as late as possible. If necessary, you can then go back and fill in details later on.

MISTAKE #3: The Weak Second Act

• Too many books bog down in the middle, degenerating into repetitive conflict and simply regurgitating the same plot points over and over. The characters aren't progressing and changing.
• The conflict of a plot must progress and escalate; the plot points must change and vary throughout the narrative.
• This escalation of conflict, as well as variance of conflict, will not only keep the reader's interest, but help to develop and reveal character as well.
• The introduction of subplots will also help keep the second act moving.
• Whenever things start to get dull, remember: REVERSE, REVEAL, SURPRISE.
• Every scene must advance the plot.

MISTAKE #4: Predictability

• Authors should never underestimate their readers, most of whom have read a lot of books and seen even more movies and TV shows.
• Readers know the tropes and cliches of the genre. If the story is predictable, they'll see where it's going a long way off and get bored.
• The key is to surprise them. Veer off from the expected course.
• If the obvious development is to take the plot in a certain direction, consider taking it in a different direction instead.
• One way to avoid this trap is not to over-outline. Be spontaneous in your writing. Allow the characters and the plot to surprise you.

MISTAKE #5: The Lousy Ending

• Too many books send the reader off on a sour note by finishing with a lousy ending.
• A great ending is second only to a great beginning in importance.
• The ending should not consist of explaining everything that happened before or tying up all the loose ends.
• You should explain as little as possible; let the reader figure out the smaller details on his/her own.
• Great endings off have symmetry to the beginning.
• Twists can be good, but they must be earned. They must be set up earlier in the book and prepared for.
• When you finish the book, get out of there ASAP. Don't draw things out.

MISTAKE #6: Showing Off

• Too many writers make the mistake of: "I've done the research; I'm going to cram it all in there."
• You should tell the reader the minimum they need in order to understand the plot; just the tip of the iceberg.
• Pare it down, leaving only the juiciest nuggets behind.
• Too much info will only slow down the story.

BONUS MISTAKE #1: Overly Explicit Dialogue

• People don't narrate a story when they speak; they don't dump details and information.
• People speak elliptically. Watch out for expository dialogue.

BONUS MISTAKE #2: All Plot, No People

• The story won't matter if we don't care about the characters.
• On its own, the plot is abstract; it requires the characters to make it real and make it matter to the reader.
• Also, the stakes of the plot must matter to the characters in order for us to care as readers.

BONUS MISTAKE #3: Action Is Boring

• Unlike in film where action scenes can be exciting, in books they too often are boring.
• What is interesting to the reader is how the characters react to the action and how they interact with each other.
• There should also be variety in your scenes; don't follow an action scene with another action scene and another action scene. Vary the pace, vary the types of scenes, slow down and speed up in order to give the reader a break and keep them interested.

BONUS MISTAKE #4: Backstory Dump

• Don't make the mistake of dumping the characters' backstory on the reader all at once. It will bring your plot to a halt and bore the reader.
• Reveal the backstory slowly, in pieces, as necessary.
• Drop references in here and there; include mentions in dialogue; intersperse little details throughout the plot.
• There is always a trade-off of CHARACTER vs. PACE.
• It's importance to find the balance of revealing enough about the characters in order to make them interesting and make the reader care about them, versus the need to keep the plot moving.

It was a very interesting talk. I hope you find this shorthand version useful.

Comments

[spyscribbler]

Oh, wow! Are you going to share more about Thrillerfest to us poor folk who couldn't go? Please say yes, please say yes! I wish I could've gone!

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much David! You're awesome!

[flatout05]

Good stuff. No, it's better than that: As James Ellroy would say, this is goooood stuff.

[Roddy Reta]

Thanks for posting this invaluable information. Finder's speech contains more good information about writing than a lot of 400 page books on the subject.

Joseph Finder has never written a bad novel in my opinion, and I still count HIGH CRIMES and COMPANY MAN as two of the best thrillers I've ever read. He obviously knows his stuff; I just wasn't aware how methodical he was in his approach.

[Deborah]

This is good, and most of it applies to ANY type of book, not just thrillers!

[Terrance Jones]

I have leukemia.

[Elaine Flinn]

You're a Prince & a Champ for sharing this, David!

[AS Meredith]

Thanks for the write up! I was a Craftfest, too, but didn't get to Mr. Finder's session. Each one I did attend was excellent. David Hewson's on computer tools was a gem--really about using tools to help organize and manage all the bits that go into a novel. Eric Van Lustbader's presentation was like a whole writing class crammed into an hour. Saw you sitting in the back at Neil Nyren's presentation but but didn't get a chance to say hi.

[Patrick Balester]

Very useful notes. Mind if I print them off and paste them next to my keyboard?

This should help as I rewrite my first draft.

[ArkansasCyndi]

For crummy shorthand, you did a great job! Thanks

I wish I were there at Thillerfest. I am hearing it's fabulous this year.

[I.J.Parker]

Thank you! Those comments are indeed very useful, and while they apply more to genre than literary fiction, they are the very things that distinguish genre from other forms of writing and spell the difference between failure and success.

[Chris]

Good to read these points again! Good timing for me as I'm doing my re-write. Thanks for sharing!

[JJ Cooper]

Thank you Mr Finder for the great tips. And thank you Mr Montgomery for bringing it those who couldn't make it this year. I'll see you there next year.

JJ

[Karen Dionne]

Great notes, David! I attended the same workshop and was going to summarize mine for a friend - now I don't have to. All I can add is how comforting I found it to know that despite his talent and his success, Joe still makes some of these mistakes. As he and others said many times over the weekend, writing is hard!

[RAMSEYTricia]

Buildings are not cheap and not every person can buy it. However, personal loans are created to help different people in such kind of cases.

[First Children Fiction]

First Edition Book offers a wide range of children's first edition books by various contemporary authors. If you are a connoisseur of first edition books or are planning to buy some children's fiction, why not get a first edition children's book

[ClubPenguinCheats]

Each one I did attend was excellent. David Hewson's on computer tools was a gem--really about using tools to help organize and manage all the bits that go into a novel. Eric Van Lustbader's presentation was like a whole writing class crammed into an hour.

[First Literary Fiction]

hay man this post is great have a look at this post....

[timberland boots sale]

So beautiful posts,all I like,hope to be better then,and enjoy yourself,good luck in your life.

[Generic Viagra]

Hello....It is often said that we no longer learn from the mistakes than the successes. But it's better to learn from others' missteps than on their own.
Thank you

[kamagra]

I think that every experience in life give us a learning, it is our decision to make a good learning or taking it the wrong way. At the end we are going to learn from our mistakes.

[Viagra Online]

I think that everything pass because there are many situations or circustances on life. Sometimes people react in agood or bad way. Indeed, thanks to the person that share this information with us.

[Account Deleted]

I would love to see some updates on this one though, am still confused.
http://reduce-stretch-marks.com/

[Mr THomas Alan Thomas]

Noir Nation is looking for writers, stories, and graphic novels in category crime/noir.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0MlSe6zU-k

More info: [email protected]